


Peace in Death

by undernightlight



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy
Genre: Angst, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Friendship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-26
Updated: 2020-01-26
Packaged: 2021-02-27 15:41:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,711
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22419439
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/undernightlight/pseuds/undernightlight
Summary: Anakin wakes up in darkness, not knowing where he is or how he got there. He's both relieved and anxious when an old friend is there waiting to greet him.
Relationships: Obi-Wan Kenobi & Anakin Skywalker
Comments: 4
Kudos: 67





	Peace in Death

**Author's Note:**

> It's my first SW prequels fic!! I love both of these characters so much - as well as the prequels as a whole - so it was fun writing them. It could be read as shippy, and though I am neither for nor against Obi/Ani, that's not how I wrote it, but either way, I think it's precious.
> 
> Enjoy!

When he came to, he was surrounded by darkness. He couldn’t even tell if his eyes were truly open at first, until his pushed himself up into an upright position. He was missing a hand, and the other was clad in black leather. He looked down and saw the control panel of his suit on his chest and his body when tense.

A thin layer of water, only an inch deep, covered the entire floor, but he wasn’t at all when as he managed to his feet. As he looked, he saw no end to the darkness, just a black void leading on forever in every direction, and he saw nothing else. Where he was he didn’t know, but he wasn’t sure if he wanted to. With direction meaningless, he started walking forward, just moving in hopes of something, but anything was better than just standing there and waiting for something that may never come.

His heavy boots created small but heighty splashes as he walked, each foot coming down heavy like always, his cape lightly blowing behind him. It was strange though, not being in constant pain. Pain was apart of him, of his life, and had been for long, that to be free of it was something he never thought could happen. Something wasn’t right. Obviously something wasn’t right, but what…

Suddenly, he stopped. He felt eyes on him, and slowly he turned. For a brief moment, he didn’t recognise who was stood in front of him as some distance, but then he remembered and it hit him all at once.

Obi-wan stood there. “Anakin,” he said, “It’s been quite a while.” He looked like how Anakin remembered him, with short hair and a beard, and Jedi robes and kind eyes. It was Obi-wan before Vader.

“Master?” He asked because he felt so unsure of everything, even himself, that he needed confirmation; it had been so long since anyone had called him Anakin that it was foreign to his ears.

“I haven’t been you master for a long time now.” Despite no walls - or any surfaces - there was a light echo to his voice, something that made him sound grand and wise but also warm and comforting. It was fitting for Obi-wan, Anakin thought.

Not knowing what else to do, he took a step forward, his legs suddenly feeling shaky like his body’s weight was too much to hold. He only managed another unstable step before he stopped. He felt like he was hitting an invisible wall with an invisible door he couldn’t find to pass through and keep moving. Hearing footsteps, maybe Obi-wan understood, and as he continued to stare at the water ripples around his boots, eventually the tips of Obi-wan’s boots came into his top peripherals. He didn’t look up.

“Ask what you need to,” came Obi-wan after a few moments of silence.

Anakin had a lot of questions, a lot of things he wanted and needed to stay, but he started with something simple. “Am I dead?” He managed then to look to Obi-wan, whose eyes were sad but honest, and he nodded. “Where are we?”

“The world between worlds, so it’s called. It doesn’t always look like this,” and he gave a wide and vague gesture to the darkness around them, “But it does when you first get here.”

“And after?”

“Whatever you want it to look like. We have control here. We can change our surroundings and our appearance.”

At that, Anakin found himself looking down to his body, to his remaining hand and stump, to his armor-heavy torso and mechanical legs. Before, he’d never had the time to think about it, but as he looked at what was his body, he wondered how much was flesh and how much was metal. He wondered how much of him was Anakin and how much was Vader.

“Stop thinking Anakin,” Obi-wan said, reaching out and placing a gentle hand on his arm. “Just say it.”

“I...I don’t want to look like this anymore. I want to look like I used, like when I was with you.”

Obi-wan nodded. “Just relax and I can help.” Relaxing seemed almost impossible, but he would try. He took in a deep breath, as steady as he could make it, and breathed out as even as possible. Obi-wan followed similar movements before his eyes fell shut. A few seconds later, he opened them again and dropped his hand back to his side. “Better?”

Anakin had felt nothing, but when he looked down, he saw two hands, one flesh and one metal, both his. He was dressed in dark robes, his Jedi robes, clothes he hadn’t seen in years. It was strange. He felt his face - an odd gesture he knew - and all his features were that as best he remembered, still feeling the slight dent of his scar. In other circumstances, maybe taking the time to run his hand through his hair would be vain, and maybe it was, but it had been so long since he was Anakin that maybe it was okay to take a moment to remember who he used to be.

He managed small, short and quick nods in response to Obi-wan’s question. He didn’t trust his voice to come out in one piece, and not daring to look his master in the eye, gaze fixed on the ground in the space between their boots. Maybe Obi-wan understood or he just guessed, he wasn't sure, but perhaps it didn't matter, as Obi-wan reach up with a gentle hand to the back of Anakin's neck, and pulled him down and embraced him. It had been a very long since someone else held, only recently have someone care enough to even touch him, so after a moment of stunned shock, he broke.

His arms came around Obi-wan and he clung on tight, grabbing fistful of fabric, grounding himself, and he buried his face in the crook of Obi-wan’s neck. God he missed this, having someone care for you. When he started to cry, he wasn't even surprised at himself if not still embarrassed. Obi-wan didn't seem to mind that he was falling apart in his arms, and instead was patient and gentle and kind, readjusting his hold on Anakin every so often, reminding him that he was still there.

There were so many things he wanted to say, that he felt like he needed to say, and again, maybe Obi-wan knew this. In a warm and soft voice, almost like talking to a child, Obi-wan said, “It’s okay, I know you’re sorry, and you should know that I forgive you.” He cried harder. He needed to hear it yet he felt so undeserving it, but he had to accept it, he knew that, for his own sake or he’d go mad. It didn’t stop his crying though, and he held on tighter and buried his face in further.

In a black void, time was undisernable, so Anakin wasn't sure how long there stood there, how long he stood there an absolute mess. Eventually, when he deemed himself enough together, he peeled himself back though still reluctant to let go. Obi-wan was gentle in stepping back a half step, allow space and air between them. His hands slid down Anakin’s arms before they fell to his side. Anakin was sure he still looked terrible, but at least he looked like himself.

“Can we go somewhere?” He asked. His voice came out dry and hoarse, but it sounded like him in every way that mattered.

“Anywhere you’d like?”

He shook his head. “Just, just somewhere I’ve never been.”

“Close your eyes,” and Anakin did so. He felt Obi-wan’s hand on his arm again - flesh under his robe - and he breathed in deep. Only a moments passed before he was told to open his eyes, and when he did so, he couldn’t help but be breathless by his surroundings. They stood at the edge of a bright and lush forest, boots in dried mud. Beside them was a lake, so clear it was hard to tell how deep it went. And the water was expansive, going off far and out, but he could make out trees and rocks across on the opposite shoreline, identical to the ones where he stood.

“I used to come here often in my padawan days. Master Qui-gon and I would meditate up there,” Obi-wan said, pointing up to a large, flat rock that poked out over the water. “I would easily get bored and try to sneak away, and I doubt I was very subtle about it, but sometimes he let me get away with it, and I’d go exploring for a while before sneaking back.”

“I can see why you got distracted.” It was incredibly beautiful, close to what Anakin would describe as a paradise.

“Before you know it, you’ll be able to create your own worlds, it just takes time and practice.” Anakin nodded, still looking around but not yet moving. “There are others that would like to see you, when you’re up to it.”

“Others?”

“Qui-gon, for example. Members of the council.”

“...Ahsoka?”

Obi-wan smiled, “No, she’s still very much alive.” Anakin missed her, but he would rather miss her knowing she was alive than see her knowing she was dead.

As he thought of his padawan, his Snips, he had to ask, “The younglings?”

The smile fell from Obi-wan’s face. “Yes, they’re here. Some want to see you, some...do not. As I said, you’ll only see them when you feel up to it, and we’ll go at your pace Anakin, not theirs.” His tone was so solid, like wood, and it offered him comfort. He also appreciated Obi-wan’s self inclusion as he was sure he’d be unable to do it alone.

“Now,” Obi-wan said, beginning the change of subject, “Since we’re here, is there anything you’d like to do? Or anywhere else you’d prefer to go?”

With a shake, Anakin said, “No, I’d like to stay, if you’d let me,” and Obi-wan offered a warm smile and nod. “And, if I can, I’d like to go swimming. It’s been a very long time since I could go swimming.”

“That’s a very good idea, and I think I might join you.”


End file.
